The Law of the Inverse of Inara
by bricoleur
Summary: In Inara's absense, everything is different. Then, when Serenity malfunctions, Kalee finds herself increasingly drawn to the hearbroken mal....


Authors Note: Firefly should never have been cancels, for  
  
the first and foremost obvious reason: it is excellent and  
  
far superior to all other shows! ((besides....i have the  
  
habit of saying 'shiny' now.........though i haven't picked  
  
up swearing in chinese...yet....lol)) At any rate, this is,  
  
obviously, a fan fiction. it is not a fan script. it is a  
  
fan fiction. (well, duh). It is meant to pick up where the  
  
show left off. Enjoy. (i hope.) Review. (yes. do.)  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~~~~~~  
  
Prolouge:  
  
Things were different, now. There was a disorder to the  
  
ship, intangible, yet evident. On the surface, it was as  
  
well-mantained as ever. But to Kalee, it seamed that no one  
  
aboard new how to act without the illusive, subdued Inara  
  
there to raise her eyebrows and interject rueful comments  
  
now and then, her forehead crinkled in disdain or scorn.  
  
Only Jaynne was left unscathed. Although, Kalee noted  
  
disgustedly, he'd been watching her more lately. She  
  
suppressed a shudder at the thought. Mal had been hit the  
  
worst, it seamed. Without the opportunity to quarrel softly  
  
with Inara about her profession, egging her on, anything for  
  
an outlet to his realms of chronic tenacity. More than that,  
  
anything to stay a moment longer, enveloped her scent.  
  
Anything to stay a moment a longer, breathing in that scent,  
  
breathing in her eyes through his, feeling silk almost as  
  
vibrant as she beneath his touch.....mostly he looks for  
  
opportunities to not-so-softly quarrel with anyone, about  
  
anything, all the time.  
  
Inara.....  
  
((The Law of the Inverse of Inara, as told by Kalee))  
  
What she told Mal, when he was still compiling the crew:"of  
  
course I will. Because you want me here. I can bring the  
  
ship something the others cannot. Diginity."....well, we've  
  
all laughed about that. From the mouth of a companion. From  
  
the mouth of....you can fill in the blank. We all know the  
  
less kind words. Now, we still laugh. We're still laughing  
  
at the irony. But it's a different irony we laugh at now.  
  
The funny thing is, she's right.  
  
Now, I recline against the bed frame. Not my bed; Inara's. I  
  
like to sit in her chambers. It's tranquil: remembering. All  
  
the silk and scents remain. Only Inara herself is missing.  
  
Jaynne spots me now and then and I know what he's thinking:  
  
how can I possibly lie on the bed of a......companion? I  
  
like to think of it in terms of desks. When you are a little  
  
kid, at school, you share desks. Musical chairs, day in, and  
  
day out. You don't know what's happened there, but if you're  
  
not thinking about it, what does it matter?  
  
I furl my hands about a coffee mug. This, at least, is mine.  
  
I've painted it: a smudged replica of the sign that hangs,  
  
heralding those who wish to visit my room. I smile. It's  
  
become a comfort object. I always hated mug warmers; they  
  
defeated the propose. The coffee experience is one part  
  
caffeine, one part steam wafting up your nostrils, one part  
  
scorching hands, and only one part coffee. For a moment, I  
  
close my eyes.  
  
Serenity.  
  
Why would you ever want to leave serenity?  
  
Inara said that once, too.  
  
Mal told me.  
  
I sigh. My lids flutter open. I suppress a yawn; it's  
  
getting late. It's been rather dull lately- uneventful. I  
  
glance towards the entranceway-exit way, what have you-  
  
contemplating getting up. And start, sitting rather bolt  
  
upright.  
  
Mal is there. Silhouetted against the door frame. Arms  
  
crossed. Face grim, mostly expressionless. I wonder how long  
  
he's been standing there. I gulp.  
  
His arms uncross, fall to his sides. It's a habit of his. He  
  
takes a half stride forward.  
  
"What is it, captain?" I manage, squirming under his gaze of  
  
intense gravity.  
  
"How long have you been here?" he asks.  
  
"A while...I.....I come here a lot...."  
  
I falter. Why is making me so nervous? He looks haggard;  
  
hardly a threat. Besides, he's Mal , unrelenting.....but not  
  
cruel. An odd combination.  
  
Something in in the line of his jaw softens, he seams to  
  
relax a notch. Tentatively, he walks closer. I draw my knees  
  
up to my chest, resting my coffee on their crest. Waiting.  
  
"May I sit down?" he inquires. It's a funny request, if you  
  
ask me.  
  
"It's Inara's bed." I state absently.  
  
He stays where he is.  
  
I blink. Inara loved Mal. Mal loved Inara. They could never  
  
admit it....but didn't they see it? I shake my head in  
  
amazement. "Sit." I command, with a well-humored smile I  
  
simply can't surprises.  
  
The corner of Mal's mouth twitches, but it's not really a  
  
smile. He sits at the end of the bed, heaves a labored sigh,  
  
and folds his hands on his knees. Eyes downcast, he  
  
drawls:"why would you ever want to leave serenity?"  
  
My heart aches for him. I understand. Simon and I....Mal and  
  
Inara...almost mirror images. Gingerly, I take his hand. He  
  
looks up, startled. "I can't say I know, Captain." I say. "I  
  
don't know how you could need anything more than serenity."  
  
"Yeah." He's silent, for a moment. "I don't know either."  
  
Suddenly, the world shakes. I am thrown violently against  
  
Mal. An earthquake. Only not, of course. Something's wrong  
  
with Serenity!!!  
  
Something's wrong with serenity!  
  
That about says it all.  
  
The breath catches in my throat. Mal helps me up. I see him  
  
swallow. I feel myself turning red, realizing how close to  
  
him I'd landed. For that matter, how close I was to him,  
  
period. "I'll go check the engine....."  
  
Mal nodded. "I'll go check on wash."  
  
He grimaced. But then....he smiled.  
  
He jumped up, shuffled briskly out towards the control room.  
  
I felt confused. Saddened, for no reason at all.  
  
Serenity lurches again.  
  
This time, Mal isn't there to catch me.  
  
Right.  
  
I spring to my feat and head for the engine.  
  
The engine is stuttering. There is no other way to describe  
  
it. I studied it in vauge bewildermeant. I saw nothing a  
  
miss, yet still- it stuttered. Gears catching on gears,  
  
grinding and sputtering. I squinted, leaning in close, the  
  
air clogged with oil. My eyes lit on the problem. We were  
  
missing a screw. A dwarf screw. Vital, minute. We would have  
  
to land. And soon. I swore.  
  
I told Mal.  
  
He was grim, in good reason. The nearest planet was the one  
  
we had left Inara on. We would have to turn back. I crossed  
  
my fingures and prayed we could make it that far.  
  
"Wash." Zoe snapped. Wash swivled in his chair. "hurry up.  
  
Full speed. Whatever you can do."  
  
Wash looked blank. Artificial sunlight illuminated his short  
  
hair. "The engine will burst- combust- explode- take your  
  
pick."  
  
Zoe nodded. "I know. It will anyways, if Kalees right.  
  
Asuming she is, It's probably a brighter prospect that it  
  
combust on land. Full speed." She glanced to me for  
  
guidance. I nodded.  
  
"Full speed." I muttered.  
  
Wash shook his head in amazement, but, then, he pressed the  
  
magical three buttons. I wonder what they do. He hits them  
  
before he does anything- same order, same buttons. But I  
  
didn't have time to ponder. He cranked Serenity up to full  
  
speed, and we were off.  
  
Since there was nothing more for me to do, I waundered off  
  
to my room. Not Inara's, not this time. I climbed into my  
  
hammock, and speant the rest of the voyage weathering the  
  
lurches, and trying to keep my coffee from spilling.  
  
I became aware that we had reached out destination, the  
  
bustling metropolis that is Capriol, when Serenity gave a  
  
final lurch, and then fell utterly still. Time for the  
  
scavenger hunt for the dwarf screw to begin.  
  
I moaned. This could get…interesting. 


End file.
